On Dec. 11, the Ukrainian parliament approved a plan to bring substantial changes to defense, energy, public administration, agriculture and other sectors. Some parts of the program, however, have received criticism for bringing nothing to the table, such as no plants to reform of Ukraine’s corrupt and ineffective police.
Ukraine's grain harvest this year surpassed experts' expectations, reaching 57.2 million tons, an increase of 13.6 percent from last year, despite the loss of agricultural land in Crimea and part of the Donbas. Many experts see sector as the most promising on Ukraine's economic scene as it contributes as much as 10 percent to the nation's gross domestic product.
Ukraine is heading into the New Year desperately short of peace, cash and reforms.
On Dec. 6, Khadija Ismayilova, one of the most courageous and talented journalists in Azerbaijan and one of a handful of journalists daring to carry out investigative journalism in the oil-rich ex-Soviet republic, was jailed for two months pending trial. This marks a new low in Azerbaijan dictator Ilham Aliyev’s assault on free speech in the Caucasus nation of nearly 10 million people.
Ukraine provides little reason for optimism at the moment, but the appointment of three expatriates to key ministerial jobs this week gave us a little break from the winter wartime blues.
Editor's Note: The following is an English-language transcript of Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual address to the Federal Assembly on Dec. 4.
Editor's Note: The following is the text of the official Dec. 2 joint statement following a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission.
Editor's Note: The following is the English-language transcript of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's speech during the opening session of parliament on Nov. 27.
Ukraine has had several influential visitors this year. But, unfortunately, most of them still do not get it - that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war has put Ukraine on the brink of survival and has been a frontal assault on the international order that needs to be stopped.
Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Post will be tracking the progress made by Ukraine’s new, post-EuroMaidan Revolution leaders in making deep structural changes in the national interest. The Reform Watch project is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation. Content is independent of the financial donor.
The government's recent attempt to amend aviation rules, and the subsequent threat by the international air carrier WizzAir to pull out of the country, is another really bad sign we’re seeing in Ukraine.
Editor's Note: The following are the transcribed remarks of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Kyiv and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Nov. 21 at the Presidential Administration.
On Nov. 21, some 2,000 people gathered at Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square in Kyiv to protest the Ukrainian government's decision to turn back on the Ukraine-European Union association agreement. At least that was the trigger for a nation fed up with the corrupt rule of President Viktor Yanukovych. The initial gathering would grow to tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands, then more than a million at some key protests. A tent city sprouted up in the city center and a vast grassroots operation evolved that drove Yanukovych out of power on Feb. 21 -- almost four years to the day after he took office. Before Yanukovych fled, he allegedly ordered the murders of more than 100 people by government-hired snipers.
On the first year anniversary of the start of the EuroMaidan Revolution, the Kyiv Post offers links to some of the most memorable stories and videos of the revolution.
Editor's Note: The following is the transcript of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R. Pyatt's remarks on Nov. 19 to participants of the Kyiv Post Tiger Conference in the Hilton Kyiv Hotel.
Even as Russia shores up its illegitimate proxies in eastern Ukraine with weapons and troops, the West continues to behave spinelessly. German Chancellor Angela Merkel discounted the possibility of further economic sanctions against Russia, opting instead to float the lame likelihood of individual visa bans and asset freezes against separatist leaders in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. As the foremost leader of the 28-nation European Union bloc, Merkel’s unwillingness to more strongly confront Russia is disappointing. But abhorrent is the active opposition to more sanctions of such politicians as Hungary’s prime minister and the Czech Republic president. The United States, whose Congress is now in Republican hands, remains the best hope for Ukraine getting military aid and additional economic assistance.
As the national currency continues its drop this week and the Defense Ministry orders troops to get ready for a Russian invasion, Ukrainians are wondering how they will survive this crisis.
In response to the Nov. 2 elections held by Kremlin-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk are moving to revoke the two Donbas oblasts’ “special” autonomous status and cancel government benefits, including pensions, for residents living in separatist-controlled areas.
Vladimir Putin is continuing his bullying of Ukraine, a much smaller and weaker nation, with almost no aim except destruction and death.
Military expert and head of defense think tank Information Resistance, Dmtry Tymchuk, said there are up to 27,000 armed Russian troops and Kremlin-backed proxies in eastern Ukraine divided into four separate strike groups, according to a Facebook post on the morning of Nov. 3.